Three experiments including Litopenaeus vannamei cultivation in the recirculating aquaculture system, as well as aquaponic experiments on macro and microalgae have been designed and ready to be performed at the University of Gdansk as part of the AquaVIP project to serve research, educational and business support purposes within AquaYouth, AquaProfi and AquaTION modules of the project service offer.
Growth and nutritional value of Litopenaeus vannamei from the small-scale laboratory culture
The experiment will focus on a challenge to develop the potential of crustacean aquaculture focusing on combination of Litopenaeus vannamei and recirculating aquaculture technology (RAS). It is a follow-up of the already performed research under the Interreg South Baltic Programme project InnoAquaTech. Previous experiments on Litopenaeus vannamei in RAS system were carried out at the University of Gdansk within InnoAquaTech project. A report and video material on previous experiments, analysis, and results are available as open source materials. For the experiment a system called RAS 500 will be used. The system consists of two sets of inland aquaculture systems with closed water circuit – RAS. The experiment design predicts five phases: cultivation preparation, transport and placing of Litopenaeus vannamei shrimps in the tanks, cultivation, harvesting, and analysis.
Aquaponic experiment with Litopenaeus vannamei and macroalgae
Algae scrubber experiments series will be based on Baltic Sea water, and Litopenaeus vannamei culturing water (from RAS 500 experiments), and the assumption that organisms and propagules included in the water will develop into algal communities in experimental conditions. The assumption is based on wide use of “algae scrubber” systems in aquaria. The Alage Turf Scrubber was patented in 1980. A high development of algae scrubber systems for fish-keeping has been observed among amateurs. Still, there is little research in the scientific literature on the application of this system. Experiments series will include; testing the system known as “algae scrubber” using Baltic water, testing the system known as “algae scubber” with culturing of Litopenaeus vannamei, and testing the system known as “algae scrubber” with culturing of Litopenaeus vannamei, and selected strains of Ulva sp.
Aquaponic experiment with Litopenaeus vannamei and microalgae
The experiment will focus on the selection of local strains – selection of strains that will grow efficiently using Litopenaeus vannamei culturing water as a medium. Special focus will be put on salinity and a nitrogen source influence. Biochemical characterization of biomass will be performed with the purpose to determine the possibilities of commercial use for wastewater treatment, production of pigments, lipids and their use as an additive to plant biomass for biogas production, or protein-rich biomass to be used as a feed additive. An assessment of algae growth in bioreactors and preparation of inoculum for cultivation on a semi-technical scale is planned in the further stage of the experiment, as well as the reassessment of growth rate and biochemical composition to determine the stability of biomass characteristics when changing the way algae are grown.